Q&A with Steve Smith
(click here to submit a question!)

Q. Hi Steve,

I've been a fan of yours since the '70s. You have always played tastefully and with a great sound.

My questions:

What kind of wood was your big red Sonor kit (Journey days) made of? I have an all-maple kit and was wondering if you've had the experience of playing kits made of beech and/or bubinga, what would you say are their sound characteristics in relation to maple?

- Veggy Boy

A. Veggy Boy,

Thanks for listening to my music for so many years.

I like the sound of the old Sonor drums very much. Sonor has asked me to make a “Steve Smith Signature Set” for my 30th anniversary of playing Sonor, which takes place in 2007. I am thinking of creating a set that is very similar to the drums I played in the late '70s and early '80s, which were made of beechwood.

Those drums had a lot of attack with a very deep and warm sound. The Sonor bubinga drums did not have shells made of bubinga wood, they just had an outside and inside ply of bubinga, the shells were made of beechwood. I asked Karl-Heinz Menzel, the president of Sonor, about the shells, this is his reply:

“A beechwood shell is made out of 3 plates. Each Plate exists out of 3 plies, thickness approximately 3mm Phonic Plus: 3 Plates = 9 ply = 9mm. Signature Bubinga: 3 ply Bubinga veneer outside, 6 ply Beechwood in the middle, 3 ply Bubinga veneer inside. Total 12 ply = 12mm. Karl-Heinz.”

My red Sonor kit that I used in 1981 was a Signature kit that I had delivered to me with bubinga on the inside and unfinished beechwood on the outside. I had them painted red at an auto-body shop. (This was before Sonor offered red as a color choice.) I played that kit live but I never did use it on a studio recording, I thought my Sonor Phonics sounded better.

The new maple drums tend to be very warm and round sounding with a little less attack. I have a great set of “blue” Sonor Designer drums in maple that I’ve used on many recordings over the last five years. They are the drums in my Hudson Music DVD.

- Steve

Q. Hello,

I was wondering if there is or will be any video released with Steve playing with Jean Luc Ponty? I saw a concert back in the late '70s in Virgina Beach and to this day was one of the best shows I had ever seen. Steve was on fire.

Thank you,

Binky

A. Binky,

I was 22 and 23 when I played with Ponty. I was just getting started in those days. I do remember it was a very high energy band and I wish there was some more documentation of that band available other than the studio recording we did, Enigmatic Ocean.

There has been no video released of that version of the Jean-Luc Ponty band. I played with him from October 1976 thru January of 1978 and we did play on a few TV shows, so the band was filmed. We appeared on Soundstage, Merv Griffin, and John Carson and maybe more, but that’s all I can remember.

During the time I played with Ponty we had a few folks come and go through the band. The first band I played with was Jean-Luc on violin, Darryl Steurmer on guitar, Tom Fowler on bass, and Allen Zavod on keys. Tom left the band and Ralphe Armstrong joined on bass. Then, we had Allan Holdsworth on second guitar for a short time followed by Jamie Glaser. All of the musicians were very high-level players.

- Steve

Q. Hello,

I'm interested in purchasing the DVD you did on the Gruber release technique that I read some place in Modern Drummer. Could you send where to buy this DVD? Also your such an inspiration !!!!!!!!!! Thanks for your passion and all of your contributions.

- Bill Cael

A. Bill,

Thank you for helping me to stay inspired by being interested in what I do! The Freddie Gruber “constant release” bass drum technique is demonstrated in my Hudson Music double DVD called “Steve Smith Drumset Technique - History of the U.S. Beat.”

- Steve

Q. Hello Mr Smith,

My name is Jim Leutwyler and I have been a big Journey and Steve Smith fan for many years, over 25 years. I'm not sure if you will really receive this but first, thank you for all the years of inspiration, second I have your new DVD and my question is about throne height, and if my feet should just be touching the pedal or sole to the floor.

I'm struggling with changing the height.

Thanx, Jim

A. Jim,

Thanks so much for listening. Your feet should be able to be flat on the floor, then you have the choice to play heel down or with the heel slightly up. I sit so I have the snare drum at a comfortable height where my hands don’t hit my legs when I play. I’m sitting high enough so I can comfortably use the “constant release” technique that Freddie Gruber showed me. My legs are not parallel to the floor but slightly angled down.

- Steve

Q. Steve,

I purchased your DVD "History of the U.S. Beat" It's great, thanks.

I was wondering if sheet music was available for the ragtime piece, the big band swing floor tom piece, and the bebop solos. I'm a blues and jazz drummer in Chicago having performed with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Albert Collins. I also teach and would love to present this material to my students.

Thanks.

Marty

A. Marty,

Sounds like you’re playing with some great musicians. Keep up the good work! Glad you like my DVD.

At this point, we don’t have the music available. Mark Soskin did a great job writing all of the music for that part of my DVD, he really captured the feel of the music for the early part of the 20th century.

You could check in with him at www.marksoskin.com .

- Steve

Q. Hi - my name's Alex and I was just wondering, cid Vital Information use a click track in their headphones while recording the music on Steve Smith's Drumset Technique/History of the U.S. Beat DVD? Do they usually use a click track while recording in the studio?

A. Alex,

No one used a click track when we played the music on my DVD, we played everything “live.” When we are in the studio we do use a click on some tunes if we feel it will help us lock into the groove better.

- Steve

Q. Hi Steve!

I'm Isaac from Barcelona (Spain). First, sorry by my bad English. My question is: what have you studied in your life? Only music? Or other things? Thank you so much!

- Isaac

A. Isaac,

Of course when I went to college, I studied many subjects as one does when they are working toward a Bachelors Degree. I still read a lot and study a variety of subjects, especially history.

- Steve

Q. Hi there - Thanks for all your great work you've done so far and all the work you'll do in the future.

I am a musician who has been lucky enough to study Gamelan, Sitar, and various other diverse forms of music. Having been taught mainly percussion as a child in an orchestral setting I have always been around the traditional way of working. Which is fine, but I have always felt there was some other way of 'feeling' time rather than using a calculator!

Anyway to the point - reading the article where you mention Efrain Toro and the way he sees polyrhythm in a harmonic fashion has really sparked an interest in me. Is there any more information about this way of visualizing rhythm. I have searched but had no luck.

Again - a great site - very inspiring and provocative.

Regards,

Amos

A. Amos,

Good question and it sound like you’ve gotten to study a lot of very interesting music. Maybe Efrain has something online about this subject if you search using his name.

I have also heard Howard Levy talk about the same thing, he came to these same conclusions about rhythm and melody being derived from the harmonic overtone series independently from Efrain, check out Howard’s website: www.levyland.com/index.php  These are the only two people I’ve heard talk about this subject.

I Googled “Efrain Toro Harmonic Overtones” and came up with this:
www.usask.ca/music/other_events/farlsttwo.htm

In recent years, music educators Efrain Toro and Reinhard Flatischler have advocated nonlinear approaches to conceptualizing rhythm in an attempt to pinpoint the structural properties of rhythm that are common across cultures and borders. Their theories are supported by other music educators, music theorists, and music psychologists who have investigated cyclic and harmonic properties of rhythmic structure and motion.

They provide the basis for the conceptualization of rhythm in terms of frequency, rather than duration. This presentation will explore the implications of these theories for rhythm education, while providing practical applications for music teaching and performance.

I’m sure there is more info our there if you search for it.

- steve

Q. Dear Steve,

Why is live music becoming less and less popular, especially jazz? As a musician, I suppose I am biased, but there is some great music out there being played by talented people. What, if anything, can be done to reverse this trend?

I suppose this is the result of many factors, including record label control of the music industry, American Idol, less folks going "out" for entertainment, etc., but I would like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Andrew

A. Andrew,

These are good questions and I think you’ve answered them the same way I would.

People seem less inclined to go out for entertainment these days and there is so much bad music out there that many people have not developed their tastes to “higher grades” of music and are satisfied with low-level performers. If you have grown up eating junk food you may not appreciate fine cuisine when it’s offered to you.

I don’t know if we can reverse the trend but you can encourage people around you to go out to support live music. I try to get out often to see live music and plays and it’s always quite rewarding.

- Steve

Q. Hello Steve,

I caught your show in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago.... Man, what a treat!! I've been listening to you since 1977, back in the Jean-Luc Ponty days.... Thanks for all the memories... and lessons!

Anyway, I recently bought the 'Unburying The Beater' DVD from Matt Ritter. I read that you endorsed his DVD and was wondering if you had anything to add to Matt's method. Are you always playing the bass drum the same way Matt demonstrates or do you have a different approach? I'm wondering, because after witnessing your lighting speed double bass drum work, I figured you must be 'burying the beater' when playing so damn fast.... am I right?

Sincerely,

Bob

PS: do you have any recommendations regarding bass drum technique? I've been playing for 30 years and am still having problems with bass drum technique. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..... thanks!

A. Bob,

Most of the time when I play the bass drum I am releasing the beater from the head. Sometimes I leave the beater on the head, but not very often. My version of “unburying the beater” is slightly different from Matt’s, but he has a very good way of explaining the concept.

My version is demonstrated in my Hudson Music DVD. When I play with Vital Information, I have my bass drum set up with some padding on the inside of the drum and a small hole in the front head. With this setup I can get a “funkier” sound and play “into” the head sometimes. Even with this set-up I do play with the beater coming off the head 98% of the time.

The 2% exceptions are the occasional super fast double bass licks where I leave the beaters on the head for a split second. When I play with Jazz Legacy, I have no hole in the front head and just felt strips for muffling, this bass drum setup requires me to always have the beater come off the head to get a good sound.

My suggestions are to first get comfortable playing quarter notes with heel down and make sure the beater releases all the way in between beats. Really exaggerate and let the beater swing freely without your stopping the stroke. You’ll have to find the right tempo where you can experience this, the beater won’t swing if you do this too slow. Gain control with the heel down and then when you slightly raise the heel for certain phrases you’ll have more control.

I have the beaters slightly lowered so they swing a little easier than when they are fully extended. I play this way after of years of practicing and getting comfortable with heel down technique as well as heel up. At this point it is very comfortable and natural feeling to play with the beater coming off the head.

- Steve

Q. Steve,

Hello! I wanted to ask, what hi hat clutch, how tight/loose [?} [spacing of felts to the cymbal, etc], type of felts you use and how you position your hi hat bottom cymbal for the pair to “dance” on the stand when you are playing 1/8th note patterns?….it dances or sloshes back and forth…it really looks cool…I just wondered if there was something I am missing to get that effect when I play such patterns. (I am using Sonor hi hat stands…either a 600 series or a Protec series stand placing the bottom cymbal on the bare plastic cup at an angle sloping down towards me…with the clutch loose on the cymbals…still no “dancing hats”!?)

Many Thanks!

Al Richardson – Bowie, Maryland

A. Al,

The “dancing hats” is a combination of the way the foot moves side-to-side on the hi hat pedal and the loose clutch. I have found that some clutches don’t work well for this even when they are loose.

The clutches that have rubber instead of felt don’t work, you need to use felt on the clutch and felt under the bottom cymbal. The more expensive clutches work best, I’ve found the DW hi hat clutch and the high end Sonor clutches work well.

The way I have the clutch adjusted is fairly loose – so the cymbals breath -- but not so loose that when the hi hat is closed you can feel a lot of movement in the clutch. I have the bottom cymbal flat. Hope this helps.

- Steve
 

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